As a quick break and therapy from starships, I've pulled a previously started Panzer IV kit off the shelf to get my hands dirty in some real armor weathering. I've been watching a ton of tutorials on the mig paint products, chipping and rust effects and dove right in.

The first step was to spray the hull in primer/rust colors. Then, a layer of chipping fluid before the camouflage paint. A brush dipped in water 'chips' the paint coat, revealing the bare metal look. First time I had done this so I was pleased it worked.

Thanks. It's a small relief to not have to fabricate everything and just build/paint a model.

And here we are, all finished! All that was left to do was the track assembly/painting and the decals, which took a few hours this past Sunday. I also added my wife's name to the driver side hull in white pencil.

Also: could you explain how the chipping fluid works (or how you did it)?
I can see it in the pic, but never heard nor seen it before this instance. I'm interested in the expert's hands-on review ....

Sure thing. As I understand it - and this is the first time I've ever done this - this is a clear water-soluble coating which replaces the technique of using hairspray in-between layers of paint that you want to 'chip" off. In this case, I wanted to reveal the worn, rusty primer coat beneath the top color base paint. After spraying the entire model in these rusty tones, I airbrushed this clear 'chipping fluid', let it dry and painted the model as usual. After this had dried, I then took a short stiff brush and dipped it in water and started to rub around edges and areas where I wanted this chipping effect to appear. The water loosened the paint layers from the clear chip layer, revealing the rusty metal. You have quite a bit of control as to how much you want chipped. It is possible to repeat this on as many layers as you want, provided you seal the previous one in a clear lacquer.